On Cakes and Breaks
Sometimes the brick wall isn't there to stop me. Somtimes the brick wall is there to help me change course. Turn and look in a direction I never thought about traveling before. And sometimes that new path is far more interesting :) When teaching in Los Angeles, I subbed almost every day in the same school for six months. My brother and sister-in-law worked there. Positions would be open the next year. I interviewed as a formality for one of two teaching jobs. Except an unexpected applicant walked through the door. A teacher with more experience, probably a credential (I was going into the intern program). And the other space went to the daughter of a teacher who had been there for thirty years.
So I stood in unexpected questions. Where would I go now? Turns out I went to the school where I met my husband. The great disappointment becomes great opportunity.
It can take me awhile to see the reasons for disappointment. Yesterday the inspiration hit. We're starting a new website- My Story Break. After all, everyone needs a great story when they have a break. We're building the site and I need to accumulate some stories. I'll post at least one a week. I know when I'm teaching, the minute I do get a break, I'm reading twitter and livejournal and then I run out of reading. My Story Break will celebrate fiction in cyberspace. Eventually I'll open it up for writers of all genres to share their stories. The more, the better. Hurrah!
And I'm going to have my cake and eat it too. I'll keep pitching Dirt to agents. But I'll also serialize Moonwater and write short stories for immediate posting. Living the writing life :). Huzzah!
I'll let you know when the site is up and running. Meanwhile, I'm working on a tag line. The winner so far- Take a break with a great story . . .